Altruistic youth have been giving back to Gilroy for about as
long as this town has, well, been a town and most of them are doing
it completely on their own.
”
It’s a karma thing,
”
said Jonathan Higgins, a senior at Gilroy High School and
president of the school’s Interact club, an offshoot of Rotary
International.
Altruistic youth have been giving back to Gilroy for about as long as this town has, well, been a town and most of them are doing it completely on their own. “It’s a karma thing,” said Jonathan Higgins, a senior at Gilroy High School and president of the school’s Interact club, an offshoot of Rotary International.
“I want to give back to the community because ultimately the community will come back around to help me.”
His is the kind of thinking school officials are considering formalizing into a bona fide community service component of the high school curriculum. No service, no diploma – at least that’s how it operated in other districts where Superintendent Deborah Flores has worked. Community service requirements are nothing new, said Flores, who previously headed a district in Southern California with a student volunteerism component as a prerequisite for graduation.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Flores said. “I really believe students need opportunities to volunteer in the community and that extra little push from the district gets them heading in the right direction.”
Trustees and Flores agreed that their goal is to not just graduate students who are academically accomplished – though this is still their top priority – but to shape well-rounded thinkers, community activists and civic-minded citizens of the world.
“We’re trying to educate the entire child,” Trustee Rhoda Bress said. “We want to develop the kind of student who makes public service a significant part of their lives.”
Bress helped champion the idea to add a volunteerism component to the high school curriculum back when the district was reviewing its graduation requirements. Although the idea is still in its preliminary stages, enough trustees have brought up the possibility at board meetings that the idea has mushroomed into an agenda item at an upcoming meeting, a topic many trustees expect will spark a lively discussion.
Like Bress, Board President Javier Aguirre has been a vocal advocate of adding a service requirement and sees opportunities for student volunteers all over Gilroy, be it doling out dinner at the Lord’s Table, mentoring a younger student or beautifying Gilroy, an effort Higgins and a group of Interact students have already taken upon themselves to carry out. Every few weeks, Higgins leads a group of his fellow club members in an afternoon of beautification, a more pleasant epithet for what amounts to collecting garbage along Monterey Road. Donning gloves and garbage bags, the group sweeps the downtown area, doing their part to give back to the community, Higgins said.
Though he doubted every high school student would be as keen on community service as he and his friends, Higgins said volunteering isn’t as bad as some people think it sounds.
“It teaches you about selflessness and giving back,” he said. “Those are great qualities everyone needs to have.”
Giving back is one of Christopher High School Principal John Perales’ top priorities. Under the CHS motto “Expecting all students to use their hearts and minds well,” Perales expects his students to flourish not only academically, but also as compassionate members of the community.
“The heart part is just as important as the mind part,” Perales said. “I grew up in Gilroy. I have made my career here and my family here. I want to give back and I want my students to give back. This town has a ton of needs.”
Currently in the middle of hiring the school’s head football coach, Perales said one of first questions he asks candidates is how they’ll involve the players in the community.
GHS Principal James Maxwell comes to the district with years of experience as a teacher, counselor and administrator at a Catholic school, where community service was a key component, he said. The only downfall: the mountain of paperwork it generated.
If the board is in favor of moving forward with mandating a volunteer component, Maxwell said he hopes they will use other successfully implemented programs as models.
“I’ve never been to a city where service is as part of the community as it is here,” Maxwell said, citing the Garlic Festival as a prime example of how the community is united by a spirit of volunteerism.
Advocates have suggested programs ranging from a 10-hour requirement to 100 hours, but all agree on one thing: the benefits will outweigh any administrative hurdles.
In fact, GHS Academic Coordinator Marah Kuwada wondered why a community service requirement hadn’t already been implemented. Many of the students transferring in from other districts ask her how many hours they’ll have to complete to graduate. They’re often surprised to hear that community service isn’t a part of the graduation requirements in Gilroy, she said.
Putting on her other hat as co-coordinator of the high school’s Link Crew, a group of students who volunteer their time and plan activities to help underclassmen feel more at home on campus, Kuwada said the program really helps students focus on others.
“On so many levels, it’s a good idea,” Kuwada said of a volunteer requirement. “There’s more to life than being self-focused.”
Volunteering gives students a chance to see “how the other half lives and exposes them to something different” which will spark more community awareness, she said.
The school district has already taken steps to implement Character Counts! – a program emphasizing six pillars of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship – at GHS, which administrators said could transition smoothly into a mandatory community service requirement.
“Character Counts! goes hand in hand with community service,” Trustee Denise Apuzzo said. Be it charitable, church or government related, Gilroy is a very civic-minded community and every student should contribute, she said. Trustee Mark Good also expressed his enthusiasm for the possible requirement. From the outset, Good campaigned for his seat on the school board as an advocate for well-rounded students and more options for Gilroy’s youth.
“I can’t think of anything better for our students,” he said.
He pointed to student volunteers like Mark Jacobsen, who was recently honored by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce for his extensive volunteer work, as models but hoped that, in the future, student volunteerism would be the rule, not the exception.
Though the board’s discussion has only been preliminary, trustees hoped district staff would provide them with more data and recommendations before making a final decision. The number of hours required, when the requirement might take effect and what activities would qualify have yet to be discussed.
“I really do think volunteering is a very valuable experience for high school students,” Flores said. “Some are going to do the minimum and do it only because it’s required. But most will be meaningfully engaged.”
